Chapter 4 Chapter Three Green Bamboo and Yi
In the world, what is greater than the power of love?The great love of father and son is enough to illuminate this deep dark prison.At that moment, his long-suppressed heart suddenly opened up.As a result, when the officials came to mention him to Beizhen Fusi for interrogation, he was not in a panic state of mind, but was ready to face it calmly.
Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, there have been many emperors who behaved strangely, such as Ming Xuanzong, who was known as the "cricket emperor" because he was aggressive with crickets; Emperor Wuzong of the Ming Dynasty who led the army to fight; and Emperor Shizong of the Ming Dynasty who wanted to ask the gods to hate his descendants.Since the 20th year of Jiajing, Sejong has not been pro-government.In this regard, Emperor Wanli is exactly like his grandfather.From these emperors, the tough traits of their ancestors Ming Taizu and Ming Chengzu can no longer be seen.
China has a long history, and the emperor has always been a product of politics, and the axis of politics is imperial power.However, since the day of its birth, imperial power has not been the supreme authority, but has always been in a position to be challenged. The driving force for the development of Chinese history is nothing more than continuous challenges and responses.When a person climbs to the throne of the Nine-Five Lord with all his efforts, he will find that even though he has won the world, he is still under the constraints of various forces, and there has never been an absolute "one person" Dominate the world".If you meet a wise and decisive emperor, you will try every means to strengthen the imperial power, such as Qin Shihuang, Han Wudi, Song Taizu, etc.Not long after the founding of the Ming Dynasty, Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang abolished the prime minister system with a history of more than 1,000 years and the three provincial systems of Zhongshu, Menxia, and Shangshu with a history of more than 700 years. This is the ultimate development of autocracy and centralization since the Qin and Han Dynasties.
However, the victory of imperial power at this time was actually only the victory of Ming Taizu's personal determination.The general and political power are monopolized in one body, the court is arbitrary, and the government affairs are heavy, which is bound to greatly increase the emperor's own work. That's why Ming Taizu sighed in a poem: "The hundred bureaucrats have slept and I haven't slept, and the hundred bureaucrats have not woken up. I get up first. It is not as good as Jiangnan A rich man, the sun is as high as ten feet and still has a quilt."
The situation will change again when the throne passes to descendants with far less talent and energy.Since the succeeding emperor could not and would not be willing to take on all the affairs of state, he could only exchange some power in exchange, and the forces that restrained the imperial power would once again rise.By the time of Ming Renzong, the grandson of Ming Taizu, the cabinet, which was only an advisory body, began to participate in decision-making. Cabinet ministers drafted edicts, and their power increased accordingly, and their rank and status continued to improve.In the hands of Xuanzong, the son of Renzong, he began to implement the draft system to improve administrative efficiency. The power of the cabinet was greatly expanded, even surpassing the prime minister in the early Ming Dynasty, and he was named "auxiliary minister".It goes without saying that the power of the cabinet is important and the position of the cabinet is prosperous.The result so far is: on the surface, the prime minister system was abolished, and the emperor directly commanded six ministries and one hundred divisions. In fact, government affairs were mostly decided by votes. The emperor's power was restricted by the cabinet, and his will was also controlled by cabinet ministers.
On the other hand, the cabinet and draft system also indirectly promoted the rise of eunuch power.The emperor who favored the eunuchs often handed over the power of approving Zhu to the supervisor of ceremonies, and the power of the cabinet was eventually restrained by the eunuchs.Therefore, when the cabinet system became more and more mature, there was already a situation in which the cabinet and the ministers and supervisors assisted the administration and restricted each other.
Since the cabinet scholars rarely saw the emperor, but the eunuchs had the opportunity to get along with the emperor day and night, so recognizing the authority of the ceremonial supervisor and currying favor with the eunuchs became the only way for the cabinet scholars who wanted to make a difference.Even Zhang Juzheng, the most powerful prime minister, is no exception. As the chief assistant of the cabinet, he can only bribe Feng Bao, the eunuch of Li and the admiral of Dongchang, and finally grasps the real power with his help.
Emperor Wanli was less than ten years old when he came to the throne, but he was just a young child, so he was naturally unable to take on the heavy responsibility of the world.All he did was to write the votes of Zhang Juzheng, the chief assistant of the cabinet, into Zhu Zhu according to the suggestion of Feng Bao, the eunuch of ceremonies, and then told Zhang Juzheng about Feng Bao's instructions when he went to court.The system itself is a kind of power, and Emperor Wanli has also become a puppet of the system.His words and deeds are taught and arranged by the ministers, and must conform to the moral norms, and his personal feelings must be absolutely suppressed.In my little heart, I often feel unreasonable boredom——Under the whole world, is it the land of the king; on the shore of the land, are the ministers of the king.All the people in the world prostrate at his feet, but he has no right to be the master.Long-term depression and melancholy have developed his indecisive character.
At the age of eighteen, Emperor Wanli, who had been in the palace for a long time, felt suffocated and uncomfortable.Sun Hai, the brand eunuch in charge of the Qianqing Palace, taught the emperor to imitate escorts to visit other palaces at night, wearing small clothes and narrow sleeves, walking on horses and holding knives, and having fun.Once I traveled to the west city, I couldn't avoid drinking and pottering, and acting on every occasion.While drinking, Wan Li ordered the eunuchs who accompanied him to sing his favorite new song.How could the little eunuch know how to sing this kind of tune if he was locked in the palace all day.Longyan, the Wanli Emperor, was furious, and drew out his sword, intending to kill the little eunuch.The little eunuch trembled in fright.It was Sun Hai who persuaded him from the sidelines, and Emperor Wanli had an idea, and said with a smile: "The head is forgivable, but the hair is unforgivable. Fang Xianzhen has no jokes." Then he ordered the little eunuch to take off his turban, cut off a bunch of hair, and counted it as a gift. Cut hair on behalf of the head.Afterwards, the emperor was drunk and returned to the Qianqing Palace surrounded by soldiers.
The entire dramatic life of Emperor Wanli began here.
The next day, Li Caifeng, the Empress Dowager of Cisheng, learned of her son's absurdity from Feng Bao, the eunuch of the ceremonies, and was furious.As soon as Wanli entered the palace gate and saw his mother's appearance and clothing, he knew something was wrong.Empress Dowager Li reprimanded her son's faults one by one, and asked the left and right to take out the "Hanshu?"Huo Guang Biography" read to the emperor: "The light is to see all the officials. The Queen Mother, Chen Changyi, cannot inherit the ancestral temple." Abolished the throne.Wanli didn't expect that the one-night carnival would have such serious consequences, and he was so frightened that he knelt down in front of the queen mother and begged for mercy.
It was the chief assistant Zhang Juzheng who heard the news and rushed to intercede for the emperor. Only then did the Empress Dowager Li express that she would give Wanli a chance to change her ways, punished Wanli to kneel for an hour, and asked Zhang Juzheng to issue an edict on her behalf, one for the eunuchs and one for the emperor. cabinet.The eunuchs in the Qianqing Palace were also exchanged, and all the eunuchs who had encouraged the emperor to have fun were all driven away.
After this incident, Wanli realized that he could not indulge.But he is still a man of flesh and blood after all, and he can't forget the humble tone in Zhang Juzheng's "Sinful Edict", and he feels ashamed when he thinks that this edict is issued in his name.He began to resent those who were officials but took away his emperor's authority, such as Zhang Juzheng and Feng Bao.It's a pity that people around, including Queen Mother Li, didn't perceive the emperor's growing dissatisfaction, let alone how much this dissatisfaction would affect the future.
The first person to be vented was "Big Companion" Feng Bao.Feng Baoneng could write good handwriting, and he served as the eunuch of rites and pens in Jiajing. After Mu Zong died, he was promoted to be the ceremonial supervisor with the favor of Empress Dowager Li.Because he was the eyes and ears of Empress Dowager Li, Wanli was extremely afraid of him, and he didn't dare to call him by name, but called him "Da Companion".After the emperor was told by Feng Bao to the Empress Dowager Li about cutting off the hair of the little eunuch because of drinking and playing, the resentment he had accumulated in his heart towards Feng Bao reached the extreme.One day, after Wanli finished his lectures, he prepared to write big characters and give it to the minister.Feng Bao also stood aside, just because he was standing slightly tilted and was seen by Wanli, he flung his hand and threw a large brush soaked in ink on the red official uniform Feng Bao was wearing, dripping almost full.It is conceivable that Feng Bao was terrified, and even Zhang Juzheng, the first assistant who was standing aside, changed color and lost his mind.
But things didn't stop there.
In the tenth year of Wanli, Zhang Juzheng, a well-known overworked generation, died of illness at the age of fifty-eight, and was buried in the cemetery of his hometown Jiangling.He can be regarded as devoting himself to the Ming Dynasty and dying, but behind him there are infinite grievances and endless disputes.Before his bones were cold, a liquidation campaign kicked off, and the first unlucky person was Feng Bao again.
Feng Bao was indeed a little carried away.He relied on Empress Dowager Li as his backer inside and Zhang Juzheng outside, and always regarded Wanli as a child, and even the emperor's rewards to court ladies had to be approved by him.Even if the emperor is weak in character, he often cannot bear this kind of coercion.
Some eunuchs knew that the emperor hated Feng Bao, and took the opportunity to attack Feng Bao's family wealth, which was better than that of the royal family.It also revealed some things that violated official customs between Feng Bao and Zhang Juzheng. For example, Zhang Juzheng gave Feng Bao seven famous pianos, nine night pearls, five pairs of pearl curtains, 30,000 taels of gold, and 200,000 taels of silver. .It happened that Li Zhi, who was the censor at the time, collected Feng Bao's twelve major crimes. Wanli couldn't help being ecstatic, and immediately ordered Feng Bao to be arrested on the charge of "deceiving the king and the country", and sent him to Nanjing to guard the mausoleum of Ming Taizu. .Feng Bao's family property was confiscated, and more than one million gold and silver were obtained, as well as countless jewels.His younger brother Feng You and nephew Feng Bangning served as governors, but were arrested after being dismissed, and finally died in imperial prison.
The Empress Dowager Li in the deep palace was completely unaware of Feng Bao's arrest and ransacking of his home.One day, she asked Wanli why she hadn't seen Feng Bao for a long time.Wanli replied: "The old slave was bewitched by Zhang Juzheng, made some mistakes, and left the palace temporarily. I will call him back soon." But in fact Feng Bao never returned to the capital. Buried near Xiaoling Mausoleum.
At this time, it happened that Empress Dowager Li's second son Lu Wang was going to get married, and the required jewelry had not been ready for a long time.Queen Mother Li was very dissatisfied and questioned her son.Wanli replied angrily: "In the past few years, some shameless ministers have searched and bought all the treasures and donated them to Zhang and Feng, so they are expensive and difficult to arrange."
These words quickly spread to the outer court.Zhang Juzheng has been in charge of the center for more than ten years, he is honest and honest, and he has offended countless people.Some people who wanted to revenge speculated on the emperor's intentions and regarded Zhang Juzheng as a rare commodity to live in. People who impeached him came up one after another, and it almost became a fashion.Of course, Wanli pushed the boat along the way and began to liquidate vigorously-pursuing various titles of Zhang Juzheng;A fire broke out at the city gate, which affected the fish in the pond. He had a close relationship with Zhang Juzheng. Qi Jiguang, who had guarded Jizhou for 16 years, was transferred to Guangdong.The people who relied heavily on him were dismissed, and Zhang Juzheng's effective reforms that benefited the court were all stopped and abolished.He hated Wujiwu, and even Emperor Wanli's own favorite dish, bream fish, was abolished because it was produced in Zhang Juzheng's hometown.
The desire for revenge was finally satisfied.But the emperor soon discovered that even if he got rid of Zhang Juzheng's power as he wished, he still couldn't monopolize the power - the cabinet still drafted the memorial first, and if he disagreed with the cabinet's opinion and changed the vote, the cabinet would seal it and return it to the performance. Until he submits to the cabinet, it is impossible for him to violate the ancestral system and leave the cabinet directly to submit to the central government.Wanli finally understood that Zhang Juzheng was the chief assistant of the cabinet, but he was not the cabinet. The cabinet was a system that could not be violated and a political force that could not be resisted. Zhang Juzheng was gone, along with Li Juzheng and Wang Juzheng.As the son of heaven, he is actually subject to the courtiers. The only authority he has is produced in the kneeling of the officials, and he can control very little in the end, even his personal life is also checked and balanced-he cannot make his beloved Concubine Zheng Gui the The queen cannot make her favorite son Fu Wang Zhu Changxun the crown prince.
The dream was shattered, and Wanli gradually felt a disillusioned loss in his heart.When he finally realized that although he was the emperor, he was just a vassal of the system, a well-dressed prisoner in the Forbidden City, he was completely disheartened, became lazy and lazy, and hated memorials and court meetings extremely.Someone gave the emperor a solution to "retain the memorial", that is, to delay it.With this idea in mind, Wanli had an excuse to keep the memorial and not deal with it, and let it fend for itself.Later, even the daily court meeting was not held, saying that "there is nothing to worry about in the world", and he was indulging in sensuality all day long.Family affairs make him sad, and state affairs make him afraid.He, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, was struggling in this boundless pain, suffering, ups and downs in the endless sea of suffering, directing the decline and fall of a generation of dynasties.
There have been many emperors in history who have adopted the method of abolishing government affairs to fight against the system, but none of them has ever been as stubborn as Wanli.He is not a man of strong will, but in the matter of passive sabotage, he appears to be extremely tenacious.
In the late Wanli period, the yamen was seriously short of staff.When Feng Qi was appointed Minister of the Ministry of Rites, there were still three missing ministers in the two capitals, ten ministers, and ninety-four ministers.Each province lacks three governors, sixty-six supervisors, and twenty-five magistrates.Please make a brief supplement to the speaker, Wanli has not approved it, and everyone at the time thought it was incredible.On the one hand, there is a severe shortage of officials, and on the other hand, the alternate officials cannot be promoted, so that they are alternates for life.
Due to the complicated affairs of the Ministry of Rites, Feng Qi, Minister of the Ministry of Rites, has been vacant for the position of assistant minister. He asked to fill the vacancy several times, but Wanli refused.Feng Qi applied for resignation several times due to physical discomfort, but Wanli refused.
The chief minister of the cabinet, Shen Yiguan, had always had conflicts with Feng Qi, and wanted to take the opportunity to push Feng Qi out of the court. He said several times: "Feng Qi is a treasured minister of the state, and it is advisable to allow him to return to the doctor temporarily for future use." Wanli still did not approve. .Such an attitude is really dumbfounding.
Most of the central government offices of the Ming Dynasty are located in front of the imperial city, within the Zhengyang Gate, and are roughly symmetrically distributed on both sides of the Qianbu Corridor.According to the layout of Wendong and Wuxi, in the east of the Thousand-step Corridor there are the Ministry of Officials, the Ministry of Households, the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Industry and the Clan Mansion, the Imperial Academy, Honghe Temple, Qin Tianjian, Imperial Hospital, Shanglinyuan Supervisor, Huitong To the west of the Thousand-step Corridor are the Governor's Mansion of the Five Armies, Taichang Temple, Tongzheng Envoy, Jinyiwei, etc.The important central institutions are basically concentrated here, only the cabinet and the six branches are located on the east and west sides of the Noon Gate of the Imperial City, and the Sanju Judicial Department, Metropolitan Procuratorate, and Dali Temple are located near the Xidan archway.
Between Daming Gate and Zhengyang Gate, there is a street resembling a chessboard, called "Qishantian Street", which is the traffic passage between the east and west cities.Signboards and plaques can be seen everywhere, gold shops and silver shops are crowded with people, and merchants are like a cloud, making noise all day long.A commercial street is purposely set up near the central government office, with the intention of highlighting the scene of "Fengyu, the gate of the country" with the gathering of soldiers and migrant workers from all over the world.
This street is exactly on the central axis, so it is also the main road leading to Zhengyangmen from the Forbidden City.Whenever the emperor left the palace for a grand ceremony, the Imperial Forest Army guarding the palace would set up camp here in advance and order all the shops to close their stalls until the ceremony was over and the emperor returned to the palace before reopening for business.
Qipan Street is a favorite place of Feng Qi, Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites. He often comes here to drink a bowl of tea soup and eat a plate of snacks in his spare time.But recently, the work is heavy and the body is not feeling well. It has been a long time since I have visited.Today, when he came to work in the government office with his sick body, he suddenly fell in love with tea soup.Having reached the etiquette department, he turned around and walked towards Qipan Street.
When he first arrived at Daming Gate, he suddenly saw Shen Defu standing at the east corner gate with a servant who looked like a servant. He was very surprised and ordered his attendants to greet him.
Shen Defu hurried over to pay a visit, and told the reason: "Princess Shouning called Concubine Ran into the mansion last night. The princess's nanny, Liang Yingnv, got drunk and threw a big fight at Concubine Ran, trying to drive him away. The princess came forward to persuade him, Liang Yingnv even insulted the princess. The princess was so sad and indignant that she couldn't bear to live. Prince Ran was so angry that he asked his nephew to help him write a memorial to impeach Liang Yingnv. The son-in-law had just entered the palace to deliver the memorial, and the young nephew was here Wait for him to come out."
Plane from Meridian Gate to Zhengyang Gate in Beijing City in Ming Dynasty
Although there were many cases in this dynasty where princesses were subject to nanny and eunuchs, Princess Shouning was the only daughter of Concubine Zheng Gui, and she was the emperor's favorite. After all, Liang Yingnv was just an old maid. A servant, bullying the son-in-law is fine, how dare you ride on the head of Princess Shouning?
Feng Qi was stunned, and asked, "How could such a thing happen?" Shen Defu glanced around, and said in a low voice, "It's related to Gao Huai, the Liaodong tax supervisor."
It turned out that last night Fu Chun asked Gao Huai in a formal way if he was at Princess Shouning's mansion, and handed a piece of paper to the doorman, saying that it was a letter to Gao Huai.In fact, it was a farewell poem written by Qi Jingyun, a famous courtesan in the capital, to him last year: "One sip of the spring mash for thousands of miles of love, heart-broken grass and heart-broken warbler. I wish to cry my tears into rain, and leave you out of the city tomorrow."
When the doorman presented the letter to Gao Huai, Gao Huai was very drunk, he opened it up and read it, but he didn't know why, so he threw it aside.However, in the middle of the night, someone came to inform, saying that Gao Huai's whereabouts had been leaked, fearing that a catastrophe was imminent.Gao Huai woke up with a start, and couldn't figure out how the news of his secret return to the capital would be leaked. He suddenly thought of the inexplicable letter, so he called the servant to ask. Immediately blamed all the crimes on Ran Xingrang.It was inconvenient for him to come forward, so he asked his good friend Liang Yingnv to vent this anger for him.Liang Yingnv didn't give in, and broke into the princess's boudoir without regard to etiquette, and personally led someone to beat Ran Xingrang.
After being beaten, Ran Xingrang was kicked out of the princess mansion. With grief and indignation, he decided to sue Liang Yingnv for her crimes.But he was born in a poor farmer's family, and he didn't know a lot of big characters. Usually, people from the princess' mansion had to grab a knife when playing the table. Memorials.Unexpectedly, Shen Defu and Fu Chun were drunk and slept in Goulan Hutong that night, they didn't return home, and the old servant didn't know where the master went.
It was Baby Yu who pointed out from the side: "The two of them went to Feng Shangshu's mansion together yesterday. Xiao Shen may still be doing his nephew's duties at Shangshu's mansion, but Fu Chun must have gone to Qi Jingyun's place in Goulan Hutong. Why don't you go first Find Xiao Fu and ask where Xiao Shen is."
Ran Xingrang then came to Goulan Hutong, opened the door for a long time, and finally the maidservant, Damselfly, came to open the door, saying that Shen and Fu were already very drunk, and it might be difficult to wake them up.She didn't recognize that Ran Xingrang was the imperial son-in-law, and seeing his blood-stained and ferocious face, she was frightened and dared not let him in.Ran Xingrang had no choice but to sit on the steps in front of the door and wait while wiping away his tears.It wasn't until Qi Jingyun got up early the next morning and heard about it that he invited Concubine Ran to sit down in the hall and patted Shen Defu and Fu Chun to wake them up.
After hearing this, Fu Chun said: "Ran Concubine is all because of me. Hmph, this Gao Huai is too arrogant, I must find evidence that he assassinated important officials of the court. Only in this way can we completely bring him down." Let Shen De Fu helped the son-in-law to draft the memorial, while he dressed himself and rushed to discuss with Jin Yiwei Qianhu Wang Mingshi.
After Shen Defu wrote the memorial, he hired a cart to take Ran Xingrang home.Ran Xingrang did a little freshening up, changed into his crown clothes, and brought his attendants into the palace.The son-in-law was honest and simple, and Shen Defu was still worried, so he escorted him all the way to the Daming Gate in the Forbidden City, and was going to wait for the exact news before going on to other things.
Feng Qi heard that the turmoil was caused by Liaodong tax supervisor Gao Huai again, so he said: "Nephew, don't worry, my colleagues and I have written a letter to impeach Gao Huai, this bad boy has become the target of public criticism, and he will not be rampant for long." Shen Defu said : "Yes. Feng Shibo has to go to work first, I'll wait for Consort Ran to come out here, and then tell him the good news."
Feng Qi was very preoccupied, pondered for a long time, and finally said: "Okay. There are too many things recently. After I finish this busy period, I will have a good chat with my nephew." Shen Defu said: "Yes."
After this conversation, Feng Qi also lost the intention of going to Qipan Street to drink tea soup, turned around and walked to the official office of the Ministry of Rites.Just in front of the gate, I met Guo Zhengyu, the newly appointed minister of rites, and exchanged a few pleasantries.
Guo Zhengyu suddenly pointed to the west and said, "What are you doing over there?"
Looking back, Feng Qi saw that a group of eunuchs were yelling together, he didn't take it seriously, and continued: "Uncle Shao Zong, the township examination is coming soon, regarding the candidates for the chief examiner and fellow examiners..."
The shouting and shouting behind became louder and louder, and someone was calling something loudly.Feng Qi looked back again, and suddenly noticed that Shen Defu and his servants who were standing at the east corner gate of Daming Gate were gone, only the chariots and horses remained.After being stunned for a moment, he finally came to his senses and hurriedly walked towards the group of eunuchs, shouting while running, "Stop! Stop!"
Guo Zhengyu and his attendants didn't know what was going on, and seeing Feng Qi's anxiety, they hurriedly followed.
The group of eunuchs surrounded Shen Defu and the servants and beat them violently, when they saw someone interfering, they immediately dispersed.Shen Defu and his servants were lying on the ground, covered in dust and blood, almost unrecognizable.
Feng Qi hurriedly stepped forward to support Shen Defu.There was a big lump on his forehead, his eyes were scattered, he was on the verge of falling, and his mind was almost in a coma.
Guo Zhengyu couldn't believe his eyes, and asked, "This...is this Mr. Shen Defu? Why did those eunuchs beat him?"
Feng Qi didn't have time to answer when he suddenly saw a person rushing out from the corner door—with disheveled hair, blood stains on his torn clothes, feet wearing only socks, disheveled head and bare feet, in a state of embarrassment.It was Ran Xingrang, the son-in-law.
As soon as he saw Feng Qi and the others, he immediately had an expression of panic and shame on his face, but when he turned his head and saw Shen Defu being beaten all over his body, his nose was sore, he couldn't bear it anymore, and burst into tears .
Behind the people looking at each other is the majestic and towering Daming Gate, the gate of the Daming Empire - the Sun Moonlight Tiande, the home of the mighty emperor.
The incident that Ran Xingrang, the captain-in-law captain, was violently beaten by a group of eunuchs in front of the cabinet in the Forbidden City quickly spread throughout the city, and people felt a lot of sympathy for this unlucky son-in-law.
It's a pity that Ran Xingrang's bad luck has not yet ended.On the second day after he was besieged, he wanted to go to the court again to expose the crimes of Liang Yingnv and Gao Huai. Unexpectedly, the memorial had not been written yet, and the emperor's imperial decree had been issued to severely reprimand the son-in-law, strip him of his python robe and jade belt, and send him to the Imperial College Read the sages' books, think about your mistakes and reflect on them for three months, and you are not allowed to play them again.Ran's father was originally a poor man, but he was rich because of it. He was an official in the court and was dismissed because of this.
Princess Shouning was so angry that she entered the palace three times, wanting to cry and tell the truth to her mother Zheng Guifei.Unexpectedly, the mother refused to see him.The poor princess was in vain for a golden branch and a jade leaf. She cried out that every day should not be done, and that the land was not working, so she had to go back home with grief and indignation.
Originally, very few ministers were willing to associate with Ran Xingrang, not because he was illiterate and lacking in knowledge, but because he was the son-in-law of Concubine Zheng Gui, who was the culprit of the "National Controversy".But after this incident, everyone found that Prince Ran and even Princess Shouning were very pitiful.Out of hatred for eunuchs, Yang He, the censor, said: "The sage's beloved daughter was raped by the palace slaves, and the nephew was beaten by the court market. They didn't hear the knocks, and the letters were not delivered. They were extremely blocked." Wanli read After the memorial, they were quite shocked, so they ordered the princess's nanny Liang Yingnv to be called back to the palace. As for the matter of the internal officials beating up the son-in-law, they didn't even bother to ask.
Wanli has such an attitude towards his beloved daughter and son-in-law, and he stands on the side of the eunuch without hesitation, not to mention the memorials of the ministers who impeached Gao Huai, the tax supervisor of Liaodong.Although the impeachment against Gao Huai was so powerful that it shocked the world for a while, so that even the Donglin Party far away in the mountains joined in, but the Emperor Wanli in the deep palace still ignored it after receiving the memorial and adopted the "stay in China" policy. Ways to deal with.Gao Huai himself left the city early on the day when all the officials rushed to write the letter, and returned to Liaodong.For the emperor and Gao Huai, it was as if this incident had never happened.
However, this does not mean that Emperor Wanli did not pay attention to Liaodong at all. After all, it is a border fortress and has been a troubled place since ancient times.Just at this time, Nurhachi, the leader of Jianzhou Jurchen, came to Beijing to pay tribute. Emperor Wanli, who didn't even want to see the court ministers, made an exception and summoned Nurhachi to personally ask about the situation in Liaodong.
When Emperor Wanli summoned Nurhachi that day, only Chen Liangbi, Marquis of Taining, was present among the courtiers, and the outer court did not know the content of the conversation.But just after this summons, Emperor Wanli issued an edict, which brought about earth-shaking changes in Liaodong—Li Zhi, the governor of Liaodong, and Ma Lin, the general of Liaodong, were both dismissed, and Li Chengliang, the former general of Liaodong, returned to serve as the general of Liaodong. Gao Huai continued to be his tax supervisor, domineering in Liaodong.
When the news came out, there was an uproar in public opinion.It is generally speculated that the complete makeover of Liaodong has a lot to do with Nurhaci's entrance to the palace, but the Jurchen tribe itself is also a serious victim of the tax supervision, even more than the people of Ming Dynasty, such as horses, mink, honey, etc. The things that must be paid as tribute, especially the huge amount of tribute honey, have to open a honey market every year.Nurhachi himself and Li Chengliang had a deep and deep feud. Logically speaking, he would never stand on Gaohuai's side, nor would he speak for Li Chengliang, who had been dismissed for a long time.But why did Emperor Wanli immediately issue an edict to dismiss Li Zhi and Ma Lin after this face-to-face performance?
Although the inside story became a big mystery during this period, and speculation arose, but in any case, the massive downfall event ended with the failure of the courtiers.
Fu Chun has always blamed himself, thinking that it was reckless to rush into Princess Shouning's mansion to ask Gao Huai's whereabouts that day. After leaving Liaodong, Liang Yingnv and others were sent into the palace early in the morning to slander the emperor and Concubine Zheng.The failure of the group of ministers this time has a lot to do with it.
Shen Defu persuaded: "I can't blame you. I just saw Concubine Ran in the Imperial College, and he has calmed down. He also said that this is good, just to read more books. As for Gao Huai's failure, it is not yours." Negligence. Over the years, the ministers who have impeached the tax supervisor have tried one after another, but none of them succeeded. How many ministers who were convicted of conflicting with the tax supervisor have been imprisoned, and famous people like Feng Yingjing cannot be exempted."
Yu Baobao said: "I said earlier that you can't defeat Gao Huai this time." Fu Chun said: "Baby has a foresight again."
Yu Baobao said: "This is not foresight, but you two, like those ministers, did not understand the situation clearly. Gao Huai is the Liaodong tax supervisor. His crime is that he is crazy about making money and greedy, but the money he made Where did they go? Most of them didn’t end up in the pockets of the emperor and the empress dowager. If you look at these ministers again, you only know that they wrote impeachment letters, such things as tax supervisors endangering the people and Gao Huai’s heinous crimes are all empty talk. How could the emperor possibly Calling back the cashiers I personally sent out because of these clichés?"
Although his words sounded a bit cynical, they did point out a fact - everyone knew the real source of the tax disaster, but no one dared to openly blame the emperor like Yu Baobao.Fortunately, today's emperor is too lazy and has been neglecting court affairs for a long time. If it was in the era of Taizu or Chengzu in the early Ming Dynasty, Yu Baobao's words would have caused death and extermination.
Fu Chun said in surprise: "Baby's words hit the nail on the head, and he has great insight. So according to you, how can we bring down Gao Huai?" Yu Baobao said, "There are two ways: one is to sue Gao Huai for corruption, and the emperor sends him to take down Gao Huai." Going out to make money, he is greedy for the emperor's money, isn't that suicide? The second is to learn from Fengyang governor Li Sancai, and find some murder and arson charges on Gao Huai's head. Of the two methods, the former is more serious than the latter it works."
Since the twenty-seventh year of Wanli, Wanli sent his confidant eunuchs to collect taxes and run mines all over the country. Business and industry all hate it to the bone.There are many incidents where officials and people can't bear the exploitation of tax supervision and rise up to resist.
For example, Ma Tang, the tax supervisor in Tianjin, was also in charge of the Linqing tax office in Shandong. After Ma Tang arrived in Linqing, taxes would also be levied on sporadic rice beans.The people of Linqing couldn't bear it anymore, held a strike and rose up to resist. More than 10,000 angry people set fire to the tax office and killed 37 of Ma Tang's entourage. Ma Tang himself was rescued and escaped.After the riot, the court was shocked, and Emperor Wanli ordered the leader to be hunted down.From time to time, there was a righteous man Wang Zuo, who was generous and righteous, and did not care about personal life or death. Seeing that the government was arresting people everywhere and killing innocent people, he stepped forward and sacrificed himself to save others. Go to the execution ground to be executed.In order to commemorate this selfless hero, the people of Linqing secretly set up a temple to offer sacrifices.
Another example is that because Jiangxi tax supervisor Pan Xiang and his entourage were reckless and lawless, causing public outrage, more than 10,000 porcelain workers in Jingdezhen staged an uprising, destroyed utensils, burned the tax office, killed Pan Xiang's minion Lu Taishou, and cut off Pan Xiang's food.After Pan Xiang escaped, he falsely claimed that the mob was instigated by Chen Qike, the general judge of Raozhou Prefecture, and Chen Qike was arrested and sent to jail.
Another example is Sun Long, the eunuch of the Rites and Eunuchs, who supervised the taxation of Zhejiang and was stationed in Suzhou. He extorted excessively and extorted money, resulting in the closure of many machine operators and the suspension of production, and the weavers lost their jobs.Suzhou weaver Ge Xian couldn't bear it anymore and led the people to revolt. He threw Sun Long's entourage and tax official Huang Jianjie into the river, set fire to the residences of Tang Xin and others, surrounded the tax office, and demanded that the tax collection be stopped. Suzhou civil uprising".Afterwards, Emperor Wanli ordered the arrest of those who participated in the riots. Ge Xian, in order to avoid implicating innocent people, surrendered himself and is still in imperial prison.
Another example is Yang Rong, the tax supervisor in Yunnan, who ravaged the officials and the people and did many evils. The people of Tengyue Prefecture, Yunnan rose up to resist, killed Zhang Anmin, an official of the tax supervision committee, and burned down the tax field.Afterwards, Emperor Wanli issued an order to "arrest the real culprit and punish him according to the law."After repeated requests from the courtiers, even Chen Ju, the chief inspector of ceremonies and the admiral of the East Factory, came forward to make a statement, so that the matter could be settled and innocent people would not be affected.
Another example is Chen Feng, the eunuch of the imperial horse supervisor, who was appointed as the tax supervisor of Huguang.He also deliberately flattered the money-greedy Emperor Wanli, saying that someone in Xingguo Prefecture, Wuchang Prefecture excavated the tomb of Yang's wife, Li Linfu, the Prime Minister of the Tang Dynasty, and "got a huge amount of gold."The Wanli emperor ordered Chen Feng to confiscate the gold as if he had found a treasure, and sent it to the inner treasury.Chen Feng immediately tortured and beat the tomb diggers, ordered them to hand over the gold they earned, and ordered all ancient tombs in the territory to be excavated.Wang Lixian, the censor of the patrol, said: "The tomb of Lu Wende's wife in the Yuan Dynasty excavated by the people of Xingguo Prefecture is not the tomb of Li Linfu's wife. The treacherous man wrote a lot of untrue words. Please let him die. Stop digging ancient tombs everywhere." Emperor Wanli ignored it.So Chen Feng used his power to show off his prestige, frightened the officials and the people, and ordered him to pay back the money.His party forcibly entered people's homes, raped women, or captured them in the tax office and humiliated them in every possible way.Finally aroused public indignation, more than 10,000 residents of Wuchang and Hanyang rushed into Chen Fengguan's office and injured him with tiles and stones.In order to retaliate against the general public, Chen Feng actually ordered the guards to set fire to the houses and kill many residents.Zhi Ke, governor of Huguang, dared not speak out, and Feng Yingjing, the sub-inspector, stepped forward to eliminate harm for the people, arrested and punished Chen Feng's minions, and impeached Chen Feng for nine major crimes.However, Chen Feng went up to Shu and accused Feng Yingjing of obstructing the imperial order and insulting the orderly officials.Wanli immediately ordered Feng Yingjing to be seized and arrested.After hearing the news, the people of Wuchang wept bitterly, indignantly, and cried out for Feng Yingjing's grievances.However, Huguang tax supervisor Chen Feng sent people to the streets and alleys to announce Feng Yingjing's crimes, which once again aroused public anger among scholars and people.Tens of thousands of people gathered and surrounded Chen Feng's tax office, "swearing to kill Feng", Chen Feng fled to the Chu Palace in embarrassment.The angry people threw sixteen members of their party into the Yangtze River and drowned.At the same time, he also hated Zhi Keda, the governor of Huguang, for his evil aid and torture, burning his yamen, and Zhi Keda dared not go out.It wasn't until Feng Yingjing came out in a prison van to persuade them that the crowd left slowly. Chen Feng hid in the Chu Palace for more than a month and dared not show his face.
All of these are the disasters of the tax supervisors that have affected the world, and the people's grievances have boiled, so that there has been a change of overthrowing the pole and exposing the tree.Li Sancai, the governor of Fengyang, commented on the harm caused by mining taxes to disturb the people, saying that "once the rebellion collapses, the common people will all become enemy countries", which is a vivid portrayal of these anti-tax uprisings.But even if it caused fierce resistance from the government and the opposition and even civil uprisings, the tax supervisor could still act recklessly after the incident, which was entirely related to the emperor's appeasement.
Although Shen Defu is gentle, he is not a nerd who only reads sages and sages. He is clear about the dangers of tax supervision and its source, but he has received traditional Confucian education. Openly echoing Yu Baobao's words, he said, "Actually, the Empress Dowager Cisheng is still a worthy empress."
Empress Dowager Cisheng refers to Empress Dowager Li Caifeng.She was originally a court lady who served Princess Yu of the Chen family, and her status was humble. Because she gave birth to the prince Zhu Yijun—that is, the current Emperor Wanli—he ascended to heaven in one step, and was canonized as a noble concubine by a maid.After Zhu Yijun ascended the throne as emperor, according to the Ming Dynasty system, the aunt Chen, the empress dowager, should be called the empress dowager, and the biological mother Li Caifeng was called the empress dowager, but she could also be called the empress dowager, but the aunt should add an emblem to show the difference.In order to please Li Caifeng's mother and son, the Prime Minister Zhang Juzheng and the eunuch Feng Bao specially respected Empress Chen as Empress Dowager Rensheng and Concubine Li as Empress Dowager Cisheng. Empress Dowager Rensheng lived in Ciqing Palace, and Empress Dowager Cisheng lived in Cining Palace There is no distinction between the two empress dowagers in terms of names.
Empress Dowager Li is gentle, courteous, and very strategic.When she was a noble concubine, she deliberately catered to Empress Chen who lived in another palace due to illness, and took her son to greet Empress Chen in person every day, bringing great spiritual comfort to Empress Chen who had no heirs.As soon as Empress Chen heard Zhu Yijun's little boots "cracking" on the steps, she would get up quickly and prepare all kinds of pastries and food to welcome her.When Wanli ascended the throne, although the two empress dowagers had somewhat conflicting interests, they were as close as a family because of the little emperor.
对于十岁即位的万历皇帝而言，李太后是一个最能干、最负责任的母亲。万历即位后，搬进了皇帝专用住所乾清宫。李太后因为儿子年幼，一直陪住在乾清宫，照顾小皇帝的生活、学习。每逢上朝之日，她天不亮就亲自来到皇帝卧室，高呼：“帝起！”并命宫人扶万历坐起，给他洗脸，然后领着他登辇上朝。
李太后平时教子颇严，万历少年时代性喜嬉耍，厌恶读书，课业时有荒废，常被“召使长跪”。当时，大学士张居正、吕调阳特意编了一本文字俚浅的《帝鉴图说》作为小皇帝的教材。每月除三、六、九日上朝外，其余各日都由张、吕二人讲课。每次讲完，小皇帝回到宫中，李太后还要他复讲一遍才算通过。
这种母亲陪住训政的日子一直持续到万历大婚为止。在返回慈宁宫之前，李太后特意招来内阁首辅张居正，道：“我不能朝夕陪伴皇上了。先生受过先帝的付托，你要经常教导皇上，不要辜负了先帝的嘱托。”此即史论“后性严明。万历初政，委任张居正，综核名实，几于富强，后之力居多”。一代名臣张居正能在万历初年有所作为，其实与李太后的信任密不可分。
李太后不但严于教子，对自己的娘家人也约束颇严，曾以“谦谨持家”四字赐其父李伟。李太后擅长书法，尤其善书大字，文华殿后殿所悬长匾上的十二个大字“学二帝三王治天下大经大法”即是她亲笔书写，龙翔凤翥，令人惊羡。又如慈寿寺中宝藏阁牌匾，也是出于她的御笔，旁人观其结构波磔之妙，均以为是当今皇帝御书。
然而自从万历皇帝成人，李太后便不再干预政事，甚至连她之前所倚重的司礼太监冯保被贬、内阁首辅张居正死后被清算等重大事件也懒得过问。她只是一心向佛，笃信佛祖。万历皇帝则投母所好，专门为她在京师内外广建寺庙，“动费巨万”，“助施无算”，浪费了不少人力物力。
鱼宝宝听沈德符为李太后辩护，冷笑道：“那些山野莽夫被表象蒙蔽，称颂慈圣太后圣明倒也罢了。你沈德符熟知掌故，居然也会这么想！如果太后真的贤明，就不会对皇帝所作所为不闻不问了。虽说本朝祖制不准后宫干政，但当今皇帝在太后严训下长大，素来畏惧太后，只要慈圣太后一句话，税监弊政举手可废。可她偏偏不说，你以为她不知道吗？不是。其实她早就被皇帝收买了。那些税监搜刮来的不义之财，大多数进了她的腰包。”
沈德符骇然道：“宝宝，你可不要瞎说。”鱼宝宝道：“我哪有瞎说？天下人都知道慈圣太后出身小商之家，虽然也不是什么丢人的事，但却天生有贪财好利的习性。”
沈德符连连摇头，道：“你可别再信口胡扯了。小傅也是出身商贾之家，难道你觉得他天生贪财好利吗？”鱼宝宝“哎哟”一声，忙道歉道：“我倒是忘记小傅了。傅春，你不算，你跟那些人都不一样。”
傅春笑道：“我倒是无所谓。咱们正谈论对付高淮的事，还是别扯得远了。”
沈德符叹道：“这事也是说起来容易，做起来极难。”鱼宝宝道：“没有雷厉风行的手段，怎么能打得了豺狼？所以天下人都佩服李三才，只有他能对付税监。”
傅春道：“可惜我始终不能找到高淮与刺客的关联，不然可以用刺杀朝廷重臣这件事将他钉死。”
沈德符心念一动，问道：“不是从刺客身上搜到一块牙牌么，东厂有没有查到来历？”傅春道：“没有。据陈厂公告诉王名世说，那块牙牌是假的。那牙牌编号捌拾捌号，他派人翻查了名册，锦字从一号到三百号都是万历初年造的，和刺客身上的那块牙牌年份根本对不上。”
原来锦衣卫牙牌除了正反两面刻有字样和编号外，在左侧脊部还刻有牙牌的制造年份。按照记录，编号拾壹号的牙牌制造于万历甲戌年，也就是万历二年。而刺客身上得到的牙牌侧脊刻的是“万历己丑年造”。
沈德符呼吸顿时急促了起来，问道：“那么锦字八十八号牙牌的真正主人是谁？”傅春道：“这个我也问了。这一点，陈厂公并没有交代，还是王名世自己暗中去翻查了名册。八十八号原先属于一名叫杨山的校尉，那人早已死去多年，名册上显示他致仕时便已缴还牙牌，但不知什么缘故，始终没有找到。”
沈德符道：“杨山？”傅春道：“怎么，你认得这个人？”沈德符道：“不，不认得。”
傅春道：“总之牙牌这件事有点奇怪。那牙牌虽是假的，可只有年份有破绽，其他的跟真牙牌是一模一样，连东厂和锦衣卫自己人都不能分辨真假，足见这赝品的制作者技艺何等高超了。可他为什么要刻意留下一处年份的破绽呢？”
沈德符嚷道：“太巧了！实在太巧了！”
傅春见他一改往日的从容闲雅，脸颊涨得通红，神色极其古怪，不由得狐疑问道：“什么巧？你这么兴奋做什么？”沈德符道：“己丑年就是万历十七年啊。”
那一年，对他是极其难忘的一年——先是寄居在沈家的润娘失踪，随即是父亲暴病身亡，他在京师失去了依靠，不得不随同母亲迁回故里。那一年，他才十二岁。就在离开京师的当日，沈母又赶走了跟他同岁的雪素。从此，他的人生变得忧郁。
傅春却根本听不懂沈德符的言外之意。还是鱼宝宝忍不住道：“我来告诉你吧，就是在那一年，小沈父亲去世了，他也不得不离开京师，举家迁回秀水。”
他不过是脱口而出，沈德符却是大吃了一惊，道：“宝宝……你怎么会知道我的家事？”鱼宝宝道：“哎呀，你那点事又不是什么秘密，随便一打听就知道了。”
沈德符父亲沈自邠在万历五年进士中以第一名入选翰林院，在世时书法、才学出众，是当时最有名的翰林名士，以至三十六岁早逝时，一度成为轰动京城的大事。
沈德符忆起年幼时在京城的风光岁月，亦是心潮澎湃，喃喃道：“这么多年过去，我以为旁人早就不记得了。宝宝说得不错，己丑年正是我人生的重大转折。”
傅春不禁哑然失笑，道：“这只是巧合，小沈，你不要走火入魔，胡思乱想得太多了。”沈德符固执地摇了摇头：“不，我没有胡思乱想。你不知道，我曾经见过雪素娘亲润娘身上有一块锦衣卫牙牌。”
傅春这才大吃了一惊，道：“什么，润娘？你不是说她只是一名走江湖卖艺的妇人么？”
沈德符心中有事，不及与好友多谈，忙道：“小傅，你跟王名世已算有交情，可否为我去查一件事？就是关于那校尉杨山，他是哪年致仕，哪年死的？他的牙牌又是什么时候缴还的？”
傅春道：“这倒不是难事。不过我始终觉得你想得太多了。你要去哪里？”沈德符道：“我得去趟尚书府。冯世伯是家父生前最好的朋友，润娘的事，说不定他会知道些什么。”
除了润娘之事外，他心中还有更多疑问：最近几次见到冯琦，总觉得对方心事重如山，似乎好几次有话想对他说，却又有所顾忌。这实在不像是冯琦的风格，他太想知道到底是怎么回事了。
鱼宝宝道：“喂，你身上的伤还没有完全好，不要紧么？”沈德符笑道：“不要紧，一点皮肉伤而已，我哪有那么娇气？宝宝，可要谢谢你这些日子照顾我、为我买药。”
鱼宝宝瘪了瘪嘴，道：“谁叫我略懂医术呢！就当是我付你的房租好了。”
沈德符匆匆出门，正好遇上雇请过的帮佣林大郎。后面还跟着几人，一人是顺天府生员皦生光，还有一名宦官模样的人，以及两名带刀锦衣卫校尉。
皦生光一见到沈德符，便嚷道：“沈兄，坏事了！坏事了！”
沈德符道：“原来是皦兄。出了什么事？”皦生光皱眉道：“前些日子卖给沈兄的玉杯原来是皇宫中的宝物，被这位公公偷出变卖，现在事情败露，锦衣卫拿了我二人，要追回赃物。”那宦官也苦着脸乞求道：“求公子将玉杯还给自家，自家愿意原金奉还。而今只有物归原处，大家才能平安无事。”
沈德符闻言大为窘困，那玉杯已经作为寿礼送给冯母，如何还能开口索回？
一名校尉不耐烦地喝道：“那玉杯是赃物，你还不快些交出来！”沈德符只得道：“我已经将玉杯送人，索回需要些时日。”
校尉道：“这可不行。追回皇宫宝物，一刻也耽误不得。若是交不出玉杯，就将你们几个全部押回官署去。”
皦生光忙将沈德符拉到一边，低声道：“沈兄没有看出来么？这公公和锦衣卫是串通好的，你只要破财就能消灾，玉杯也不用索回。”沈德符无奈，只得问道：“他们想要多少？”
皦生光便走过去与宦官和校尉低语几句，又重新走回来，伸出两个手指，道：“二百两。”
沈德符吓了一跳，他买那对玉杯才花了五十两，现下为贿赂要掏四倍的银子，着实有些气恼。转念想到钱财终归只是身外之物，给这些人一些钱将他们就此打发走，总比向冯府索回玉杯好，至少能保全面子。少不得忍气吞声，道：“那么请几位稍候。”自转回去家中取钱。
傅春见沈德符重新返回还颇觉奇怪。他被白白讹诈，也不好意思告诉对方，免得傅春出头打抱不平，反而将事情闹大，还免不了要被鱼宝宝冷嘲热讽一番，只道：“没事，忘了带钱。”进房拿钥匙开了柜子，取了两袋金砂，每袋约有十两，拿出来到巷口交给皦生光。
皦生光将袋子分塞到两名校尉手中，点头哈腰地说了半天好话。一名校尉终于道：“好吧，暂时就这样了。”这才扬长而去。
沈德符颇觉晦气，好在他家资富饶，也没有太将这二十两黄金放在心上。来到铁狮子胡同尚书府，门前仆人冯七道：“老爷一大早就被皇上召进宫去了。”
众所周知，万历皇帝不上朝理事、不召见大臣已有近二十年。沈德符不禁听了大奇，忙问道：“圣上召见冯世伯，是因为那晚刺客行刺一事么？”仆人道：“不是，皇上召老爷进宫，为的是商议福王的婚事。”
礼部除管理全国学校、科举考试外，还掌吉、嘉、军、宾、凶五礼之用，皇室婚事历来由其操办。福王即是朱常洵，是万历和郑贵妃爱子，也是“国本之争”中的焦点人物——传说中要替代皇长子朱常洛成为太子的人。
沈德符听说冯琦入宫商议福王婚事，心道：“圣上久不视朝，即使是军国大事，也一向是不闻不问，却独独为了福王婚事召冯世伯入宫，难怪外面纷传他有心改立福王为太子。”料来冯琦觐见完毕还要去礼部官署视事，不是一时半刻能够回来，只得恹恹告辞。
刚好冯琦次子冯士楷奔出来玩耍，觉得沈德符面熟，稚气地问道：“你是谁？”
沈德符一把抱起他，笑道：“你不记得我啦？我是小沈哥哥啊，前一阵老跟你大哥在一起那个。”冯士楷笑道：“你说的大哥是士杰么？其实他不是我亲大哥，我们既不同父，也不同母。”
才仅仅是一个三四岁的孩子，居然说出这种话来，实在有些令人瞠目结舌了。沈德符一时不知道该如何应对，幸好冯琦侍妾夏潇湘追着孩子出来，沈德符便将冯士楷交还给母亲。
夏潇湘红着脸道了谢，又细声细气地问道：“沈公子是来找我家老爷的么？老爷怕是要晚上才回来，有事的话，我可以替公子转告。”
沈德符道：“也不是什么大事。二夫人千万别再叫我公子，我是冯世伯的晚辈，也就是二夫人的晚辈。”逗了冯士楷一会儿，除下中指上的白玉戒指递过去，笑道：“这个送给你。”
夏潇湘慌忙推辞不要。沈德符道：“不过是个小玩意，留给孩子玩儿吧。”将戒指套到冯士楷拇指上，又闲扯了几句，这才告辞。
经过东四牌楼时，沈德符有心去勾栏胡同拜访薛素素，可转念想到自己新近才在皇城大明门前挨了打，额头还有一大块淤青未能化散，有碍观瞻，只得暂时忍了。
径直回来家中，正要进门时，忽听见背后有人叫道：“请问这里是李大帅府上么？”
沈德符听对方口音极其怪异，应声回过头去，却是一名大汉，虽然包了头巾，还是一眼认出他是那晚在李成梁府后门见过的女真首领努尔哈赤的随从之一，便随口问道：“你不是努尔哈赤将军的随从么？”
那大汉曾跟随努尔哈赤来过李府后门一次，但那后门与藤花别馆的大门距离不远，他这次从胡同口的另一边寻进来，居然认不清楚到底是哪个门了，正好看见沈德符，便出声询问。见对方脱口叫出自己身份，立即将他当成李府人，笑道：“正是小人。李大帅还好么？他老人家预备什么时候动身回去辽东？我们将军等不及要准备迎候接风了。”
沈德符见状，料想对方是生了误会，正要告诉他隔壁才是李府后门，忽然心念一动，想到街里坊间那些关于努尔哈赤面圣的猜测，便干脆将错就错，假意问道：“你不是跟努尔哈赤将军回去建州了么？怎么人还在这里？”
那大汉从怀中掏出一封信，道：“噢，本来是动身回去了，但半路上我们将军想起一件重要事，所以派小人回来送封信给李大帅。”
沈德符极想知道那信的内容是什么，但他终究还是个老实的读书人，强忍心中好奇，指着一旁的角门道：“那里才是李府后门，我只是李大帅府上的房客。”
那大汉“啊”了一声，正好有奴仆开后门出来，便急忙奔了过去。
这已经是沈德符第二次在李府后门遇见女真人，愈发满腹狐疑，心道：“这次事件，辽东巡抚和总兵双双被免职，税监高淮毫发无损，倒也不足为奇，以往朝臣与税监争斗，被罢免的都是大臣。奇的是，七十八岁年纪的李成梁竟然成了最大的受益者。从努尔哈赤及其随从的种种表象来看，女真人跟李大帅明显是一伙的。市井传闻是对的，李成梁这次回任辽东，肯定是努尔哈赤在圣上面前说了好话。到底是什么利益能让爱憎分明的努尔哈赤放弃杀父的深仇大恨、甘愿继续忍受税监盘剥，也要与李成梁化干戈为玉帛呢？”
正百思不得其解，忽觉背上被人轻轻一拍，回头一看，却是鱼宝宝，满脸纳罕，向沈德符问道：“你站在自家门口鬼鬼祟祟地做什么？”
沈德符知道这位姑苏秀才精灵古怪，时常有奇思怪谈、惊人妙想，却也不全是怪诞无理。当即说了两次在宁远伯府后门见到女真人之事，想听听他的看法。
鱼宝宝道：“这你还不明白么？一句话，熟人好办事。努尔哈赤在李成梁府中长大，两个人就算有仇，那也是熟人。何况女真人在李成梁最失意的时候出面支持他，力推他回任辽东总兵，将来必然是有丰厚回报的。相比于辽阔的地盘，一个税监的实际危害又能有多大呢。”
沈德符极是惊讶，瞪大眼睛，仿佛才第一次认识鱼宝宝一般。鱼宝宝反倒被看得不好意思起来，道：“你干吗那么看着我？”沈德符道：“宝宝，你有时候真的是一眼就看到了底，我和傅春都不如你呢。”
鱼宝宝道：“哟，原来鉴古善谈的沈大才子也有自愧不如人的时候。”沈德符道：“我自然是……”一语未毕，外面有人拍门叫喊道：“沈公子！沈公子！”
沈德符忙回身去开门，却是冯琦府上的仆人冯七，跑得满头大汗。
沈德符问道：“出了什么大事么？”冯七上气不接下气地道：“不是……是我家老爷一回来就要见沈公子……小的怕老爷久等，一路小跑，跑得急了些。”
沈德符听说，忙跟着冯七重新往尚书府赶来。在正堂前正好遇到姜敏、冯士杰母子。
姜敏正色道：“你世伯身子不好，要多休息调养才行，贤侄好好劝劝他，别太过操劳。”
她是尚书夫人，却要外人来劝丈夫休息，想来与冯琦疏远已久。沈德符不敢多问，只喏喏应了，跟随冯七往万玉山房而来。
到院门前时正遇到仆人秦德送浙江会馆戏班班主薛幻出来。薛幻虽然从事梨园行当，却是地地道道的蒙古人。曾祖薛绶是明军都督，在土木之变中为保护英宗皇帝而英勇战死。薛幻也有世袭锦衣卫指挥官职，但他更喜欢听戏、看戏，索性弃官不做，自己组建了戏班，专门在浙江会馆登台演出。
沈德符乍然在万玉山房见到薛幻，很是惊奇。薛幻笑道：“冯尚书想要完整的《牡丹亭还魂记》戏文，我是特地给他送来。”沈德符道：“原来如此。”
薛幻道：“沈公子老久不来浙江会馆了，有空来看新戏。”招呼了一